The Aftermath
by Kristastic
Summary: Sequel to Good Morning Carmel. Suze is going to start her senior year fresh. To begin with, she's going on her first Ackerman Family vacation to beautiful Hawaii.Then once back in Carmel she hopes to make things right after her last adventure.
1. Kauai

**Aftermath**

**Chapter 1: Kauai**

It was the last week of summer and I planned on doing some serious R&R before starting my senior year. I had never really been on vacation before so Andy, my stepfather, suggested our family take one. A vacation I mean. He even let the kids pick where we would go. Now, if any of you lived in my house you would already know where we planned to jet off to. Two of my stepbrothers are true hardcore surfing Californians. This makes the vacation choice obvious; our destination was Hawaii. Doc, who has never surfed before in his life doesn't even mind because apparently there's this rare kind of bug that can only be found on Kauai, which is the island we're going to.

I agreed to this since, I mean come on, its Hawaii. Palm trees (not that California doesn't have these) gorgeous waves, miles of beach, virgin Pina Coladas…Hawaii has it all. Well, except for Jesse. That was the only problem with the vacation. It meant being away from him for a week.

But hey, this is after all the 21st century and I am an independent woman. The two of us aren't getting along that well these days anyway.

You see, a month ago, Jesse ousted himself as a mediator to the police to help with an investigation. That's right folks. He flat out told the police that he could talk to the dead. It was right after I had kind of solved a murder of my mom's best friend who was a news reporter. You may have heard about it. I was pretty famous there for a while. But those 15 minutes of fame faded, along with the grounding I had received from my overprotective mother.

Anyway, I was not too happy with Jesse when he told the police that he could see dead people. I swore to myself that they where going to lock him up for being a bunch of crazy. But to my astonishment, they didn't. They are, to this day, using him on actual cases, like on the show Medium (don't let that show fool you, that is nothing like being a mediator). And to top it off, the police are keeping the whole situation quite. They haven't told a soul (anyone that works outside of the police station atleast) that they have been working with Jesse, so I haven't had to explain it to my parents or friends yet. Which is a good thing. Since my mom is a reporter she tends to only believe in what she can see. And not everyone (excluding me, Jesse and a few others) can see the dead. I know for a fact that the police are keeping their word about keeping it quite because I've kept my eye on the situation. I mean, I'm working at a news station and I'd notice if my boyfriend had a newsreel playing on air all about his mediating abilities.

Ever since he's started working with the police he's even talked of being there full time instead of the few days and few cases he works now. He's already given up working for Andy, and I know for a fact that the Carmel Police Department doesn't pay as well.

I should be happy that he's helping people move on and solve cases at the same time, but I just can't. I know what you're thinking…I'm a disgraceful girlfriend. But I mean, what is he going to do in September when he starts medical school? It would be really difficult for him to balance school and police cases at the same time. It just annoys me that he did all this without even telling me beforehand.

It had all started when the two of us had been hauled in "to make a statement" about the murder I had solved a month ago. They didn't really care about the statement though. It turns out they had questioned us because they had some suspicion (my history with police department might have something to do with it) that one of us could communicate with the dead. Neither of us faltered when they interrogated us but afterwards, Jesse dropped me off at my house and then went back to the station. He then proceeded to tell them that he could talk to the dead. A couple of days later, he came over to my house and told me what he had done. Which makes me even angrier with myself. I mean he didn't even lie about it like I would have. Jesse told me the truth from the get go. Ever since he told me, the two of us have been on rocky waters.

I'm hoping that a week apart will help me become more considerate and patient towards the whole situation. These are two traits I wasn't exactly endowed with. So, in essence, I'm kind of glade I'm getting some alone time without Jesse. In fact, I haven't really thought about our problems ever since I stepped off the plane to Kauai and got greeted by hula girls and receive a lea around my neck.

"This is the life isn't it Susie?" My mother asked me and reached for her drink that sat next to the lounge chair.

I looked around the pool and saw beyond that the ocean. A line of palm trees separated the concrete from the sand. The Hyatt Regency had its own private part of beach, making the hotel extremely posh. If I looked out into the water, I could see Dopey, Sleepy and even Andy surfing. I watched as Andy attempted to ride a huge wave and ended up falling into the clear blue ocean.

"Yeah it is." I muttered in reply, in complete bliss and reached for my own Pina Colada (virgin of course). I slurped up the last bit and got to my feet.

"I'm going to get another drink. I'll be back." I said and slipped my feet into my flip-flops.

"Oh Susie, if you see Doc tell him to be ready for dinner at 6:00." My mom said before going back to her new James Patterson novel.

Right. As if I want to go to the foliage where Doc is looking for the bug. I have a great distaste for plant life since not to long ago I had a run in with poison oak. I'm not sure if Hawaii even has poison oak, but I didn't want to risk it. I'm just going to hope that Doc gets his butt back to the lounge chair where my mom was sitting before I had to go look for him.

I sauntered over to the bar, which was cleverly built to look like a straw hut, and plopped down onto a barstool. The bartender, whom of which I've gotten to know in the past couple of days, was not there and was instead delivering the drinks poolside. I could have opted for that instead of walking all the way over here but do you know how many calories are in those drinks? Let me tell you, it's more than the average Diet Coke that I usually drink but hey I was on vacation.

I waited for all of 5 minutes before James, the bartender, came back.

"Hey." He said. James was a tall dark and handsome island native just working for the summer before going to San Diego in the fall for college. His black hair was curly and his skin was the color of a cappuccino. Hey, so I checked him out ok? I still love Jesse and will always love him and would never do anything to hurt him.

I smiled at him and he started my drink without even bothering to ask what I wanted. That is service, I tell you.

"So I googled you when I got home last night." James shouted over the sound of the blender.

Excuse me. Googled me? That isn't awkward or stalkerish at all.

"Oh really? And what did you discover?" I retied the sarong I had on wondering if he was a stalker.

He grinned and poured the yummy coconut drink into a clear plastic cup. At that moment I decided that if he was indeed a stalker, then he could stalk me anytime.

"Well, you where in the Carmel newspaper." He added a cute hot pink tiny umbrella.

"Oh man. Which article did you look at?" I asked mortified. I wonder if he saw the big bruise on my forehead in one of the pictures.

Thanks to my fun ability, I have been known to on occasion show up in the paper.

"All of them. It's online now." He replied and crossed his arms and leaned on the counter.

I groaned.

"I hear you solved a murder?" He said ignoring my whimper.

"Oh not that crap still." A voice said behind me.

"What's a-matter Brad?" I asked taunting him. "Sad because no ones talking about how you managed to get a C in English last semester?"

"Shut up." He replied and sat down next to me, dripping water all over the counter and my flip-flops.

"Its not like you even _solved_ it. All you did was prove that Larry did it. Yet Anna, that editor chick person, got off since there wasn't enough evidence." Dopey continued.

James raised his eyebrows.

"I can see how he got a C in English. And dude, your getting water and sand on the counter I just 409'd." He tossed him a hand towel.

Dopey rolled his eyes and whipped up the puddle he had created.

"Jeez…He's almost as bad as Dad." He muttered under his breath.

James, who also heard it, raised his eyebrows up even more.

"Andy likes a clean kitchen." I explained.

"Can I get three Cokes in a bottle?" Dopey asked and tossed the towel on the floor.

James picked the three Cokes up from a tub of ice behind the counter and handed them over.

"Thanks. Suze, take care of the bill will you?" Dopey got up and left without waiting for me to reply.

"Want me to put all of the drinks on his room bill so his dad will yell at him?" James asked.

I smiled at that. The thought of Andy freaking out over Sleepy and Dopey's room bill at the end of the vacation would just be icing on the cake of paradise that I was now eating.

Did I mention the room situation? Since we planned this vacation so late in the game no suites where available, instead Andy had to get 3 separate rooms. Sleepy and Dopey shared one, while Andy and mother (I'm glade I'm not sharing with her, she snores) had another, and Doc and I shared one. Oh come on. Its not that bad or perverted as you probably think it is. We have separate beds and Doc doesn't snore. And he doesn't leave dirty clothes around like his other brothers do. All in all, I lucked out. Except for the fact that I found a bug on my Betsy Johnson summer dress yesterday. That is about the only downside for having Doc as my roommate.

Anyway, Andy told all of us kids that we could get one movie a night and charge as many drinks as we want to our rooms. Honestly, I don't know what was wrong with Andy at the time.

But as much as I'd love to see Dopey fry under Andy's intense punishment he would receive (God only knows how many of these babies I have slurped down), I had a newfound liking for Sleepy. And since the two shared a room, they'd both share the burn.

"No. That's all right. I'll get him back some other time. Speaking of time, what time is it?" I asked.

"5:30. Why?" He asked.

I looked over at my mother and saw that Doc wasn't there. I checked the beach, where Dopey was heading and didn't see him either.

"Dinners at 6:00. I need to find Do-David." I caught my slip before it was to late.

"You know, he hasn't bought one drink from me. I'd like to see him before you leave." James said.

I assured him he would see Doc later and proceeded back to my room to pull on jeans, a sweatshirt and an old pair of Nikes. If I didn't have Doc at dinner my mom would kill me. Even on vacation, every Ackerman kid needs to be on time to his or her meals.

Even though I was dying of heat stroke in my clothes, I knew I would most likely be safe from any poison oak that may be hiding on the hiking trail the resort has.

The trail was small and only one person could walk on it at a time unless you wanted the person walking next to you to be walking in the bushes.

"Doc?" I hollered out.

Then I realized I had called him by his nickname.

"Er…David?" I corrected.

I noticed that on one part of the path the branches where broken, meaning someone had done some off trailing. I did not want to do what I was about to do.

Reluctantly, I stepped off the path into the "jungle". I was going to make Doc watch Pretty In Pink tonight, I swear to God.

"David! It's Suze. Seriously now!" I hollered again.

I watched the ground as I walked and when I finally looked up, I saw a glowy thing.

"Oh for the love of Pete! Do I have to run into dead people on my vacation?" I muttered rudely.

You would think a girl would get some form of a break.

I looked at the ghost that stood before me. He was in his mid 50's at least and had on shorts and a white t-shirt.

"Are you that rude to all the ghosts you encounter?" He asked me.

"Sorry…"

_Remember Simon…We are here to learn some patience and compassion._

"My names Suze, what's yours?" I asked.

"Kirk." He replied tersely.

"Well Kirk…How can I help you?" I said in what I hoped was an un-rude voice.

As I looked at the guy he seemed more and more familiar. That's when I remembered. James had told me on my first day here that a few days ago a local had sadly died of a stroke on the resort trails that he liked to walk everyday. I guess paradise made me temporarily forget that his ghost may still be lurking around.

"Well you see, my wife and I own a knickknack shop downtown and I revised the will so she would become full owner if anything was to happen to me. I didn't get a chance to tell her where it was so can you go down there and make sure she finds it? It's in the red dresser behind the cash register in a hidden drawer. Will you do it?" He asked.

"Couldn't I just call her?" I pleaded. Going downtown on my vacation was the last thing I needed.

"No. I know my wife, she won't believe you. And if she doesn't find the new will, the half of the shop I own will go to my brother. And I don't prefer my brother that much." He replied.

"Sure…No problem. What's the name of the shop?" I yanked at my sweatshirt uncomfortably. I was going to need to shower before dinner or I was going to stink up the place.

"Kirk and Kates." He replied in a monotone voice

Oh jeez. How original.

"Suze? Who are you talking to?" Doc asked as he appeared from behind a tree.

"No one…I was looking for you. Dinners soon. And if we're late you know what that means." I replied as I watched Doc step through Kirk's ghost completely oblivious.

"Ok. Lets get a move on..." He replied. He stopped walking and took a good look at me.

"What's with the outfit? Aren't you a little warm?" He asked.

"Poison oak…" Was all I said.

.OOOOO.

After dinner I went back to the bar to talk to James.

Again, I had to wait because he was serving poolside still.

When he came back he said, "Another Pina Colada? You've had 6 already."

"No…No drinks. I came to ask for a favor." I replied and smiled in what I hoped was a sweet way.

"What do you need?" He asked.

"Well…I need a ride to downtown. My friend told me that I have to go to this place Kirk and Kates. Apparently they have really cool stuff. Do you know it?" I asked still smiling.

He whipped his hands on the towel he had next to him.

"Sure I know it. No problem. Meet me here at 10:00 AM ok? My shift here doesn't start till 2 o'clock."

I thanked him and went to go chill by the beach until I was so sleepy that I needed to turn in. I hope my mother doesn't mind if I leave the hotel for an hour (at least I hope its only an hour) before we go get our manicures.

When I got back to my room, Doc was in his pajamas and was typing away on his laptop about his finding of the day. I grabbed my boxers and t-shirt and changed in the bathroom. When I emerged he had closed the laptop, gotten into his bed and was putting in an earplug into his left ear.

"Why are you putting on ear plugs?" I asked him.

"No offense Suze…But you snore." He replied.

"No I don't!" I exclaimed completely mortified.

"Yes…Yes you do. You're almost as bad as mom. She sounds like she has a propeller stuck up her nose." He joked and started to put the other one in.

Oh my God. I'm going to just pray I die in my sleep tonight.

"Didn't Jesse ever tell you?" He asked pausing before putting in the plug.

"No…No he didn't. No one has ever told me I've snored before. Besides he wouldn't know." I said and buried my head in my pillow.

Daughter like mother I suppose. Sometimes I hate my life.

.OOOOO.

AN: This is the sequel to Good Morning Carmel. So it may be helpful if you read that first…Enjoy, Read & review if you like. And to assure some of you, this isn't a Suze cheats on Jesse just to get his attention type of story. Hope you like it!


	2. The Will

A/N: Nope, this story didn't go to fanfiction heaven. I was abroad in Italy for the past couple weeks. Enjoy the chapter, give me tips and sorry for the shortness!

Chapter 2: The Will

"So why did you want to come here again?" James asked the next morning as he pulled up in front of _Kirk and Kate's_.

"A friend suggested it." I replied sticking to the lie I had already created and stepped out of his convertible. Not a very easy task mind you, since I was in high heels and the road was made completely of gravel. Downtown Hawaii was not as civilized as I had imagined. On the way over to the shop we had to make an abrupt stop for chickens in the road. That's right chickens; wild chickens roaming the streets.

Anyway, I wobbled my way to the door and was about to fall over but James grabbed my arm.

"Thanks." I told him and leaned against him to steady myself. As I leaned I inhaled the scent of Old Spice and immediately hated myself for it. The little voice inside my head scolded me and asked me what had I been thinking sniffing another boy who is in fact not Jesse.

I managed to gently ease off of him and balance myself in the gravel.

"Did you know that Kirk was the guy who died last week?" James asked.

Feigning surprise I said, "No I didn't know that."

We stepped inside the store and instantly I was greeted with a fantastic rush of cold air from the AC. In the shop, seashells, hula girl bobble heads, beach towels that said Kauai on it, and other stuff adorned the walls. I had clearly stepped into a tourist trap.

"James! So good to see you!" A small thin and tan woman said from behind the counter. She walked up to him tossing back her golden locks and gave him a huge hug.

"Hi Lena. This is my friend Suze. Suze this is Lena, Kirks niece." He politely introduced us.

"Hey nice to meet you. Sorry about your uncle…" I replied uncomfortably.

She smiled at me sadly and muttered thanks. She then completely dismissed me and turned to James to talk about his future in San Diego. It was rude of her to blow me off like that but instead of being irritated I took it as an opportunity to wonder around near the check out counter. Kirk had told me to look for a red dresser behind the cash register in a hidden drawer.  
I instantly spotted the red dresser but I needed to get Lena and James distracted enough to take a look for the drawer.

James cleared his throat causing me to stop looking at the register but at them. "Lena would you mind getting Suze and I some water?" He asked.

"Sure no problem. Give me a minute." She answered and went into the back. The phone rang while she was back there and I heard her answer it.

"I thought she'd never leave…" James muttered as soon as she was out of hearing range.

"Excuse me?" I said.

James ignored me and for a moment I thought I had misheard him. He went behind the cash register only to start fiddling with the red dresser.

"No freaking way!" I hissed to him. I could not believe it. Another mediator? Did we all originate on the west coast or something? I mean, in New York I had never met another mediator, yet here I am on the other side of the country and I've met 4. Five if you count James.

"What? Kirk didn't tell you?" James asked still searching.

"No! He told you?" I asked practically oozing anger from my pores.

"He came and saw me shortly after bumping into you. I guess he wanted to make sure his wife got the will. Finally!" James pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer. "What should I do with it?"

I, still fuming, did not answer.

We stared at each other in silence and listened to Lena say goodbye to whomever she was talking to.

He shoved the paper at me and shut the drawer and came out from around the counter. I rolled up the paper and stuck it next to the cash register in almost plain view just as Lena walked back in.

"Here's your water." Lena said and handed us both a plastic cup.

"Thanks Le." James replied for the both of us.

After gulping his water down he said, "Well, I'll come by later and visit you. Suze here needs to get back to the hotel."

"Yes I do. I'll see if I can make it back over here before I leave to buy some souvenirs." I added, lying through my teeth. I knew I wouldn't be back to _Kirk and Kate's_.

After saying goodbye to Lena, I found myself in James' car again. Instead of looking at the scenery like before, I concentrated on other things. Like how the wind was frizzing my hair and making it stick to my lip-gloss. Oh and how James is a liar. Or at the least someone who with holds information. I don't think that's called a liar but I think that's the best word I know.

"Suze its kind of obvious. I mean you've been in paper so much and you can be pretty aggressive at times." James stated breaking the silence and my thoughts.

Aggressive? That's not really what you want to be described as by a cute guy.

"I am not aggressive!" I screeched.

"Ok fine…you're not aggressive. But the point is, I figured you where one. Plus it was clear that you where lying to me earlier when you said why you wanted to go to Kirks." He said.

Great. Nice secret keeping Simon. Whatever, I won't see him again. I am after all, leaving tomorrow afternoon.

"Well! You could have told me you knew sooner!" I retorted.

After my outburst, I kept quite until we got back to the hotel and kept busy thinking more. James knew I was a mediator when I went down to the bar last night. He also knew that I was a mediator when he asked me why I wanted to go to _Kirk & Kate's _earlier.

"Sorry I didn't tell you Suze." He said reading my mind. He got out and opened the door for me.

"Yeah. I am too." I answered curtly.

"Well good to know you aren't mad at me." He laughed, clearly oblivious to my hostile tone. "Now go on. You're going to be late for your spa day with your mother." He said and gave me an unexpected hug that pined my arms down. I was angry with him but not angry enough to knee him in the gut.

"How do you know about that?" I asked with my voice muffled because my face was pressed against his chest thanks to my amazing height of 5'2 and his height of 6 feet.

"What, the spa day? I work here remember?" He answered releasing me. Then he ruffled my hair and got back into his car and drove off.

.OOOOO.

Shortly after James abrupt departure, I found myself in the Hyatt's spa.

"I'd like hot pink please." I said and handed the color over to the lady at my feet. I was sitting next to my mother and watched as she picked out a light shade of purple for her own feet.

Both of us had our feet in tubs full of warm lavender water with rose petals in it. I could seriously get used to this. I mean, cute bartenders, pedicurists, and fruity drinks all available to me 24/7? I think Andy is going to have to drug me if he wants me to go back to Carmel tomorrow afternoon.

"So Susie. Why are you and Jesse fighting?" My mother asked out of the blue.

I almost spitted out the diet Coke I was drinking onto poor Mandy.

"What makes you think were fighting?"

"Well honey…for one thing you haven't asked to use my cell phone to call him this whole trip."

"Mom. Jesse and I are fine. We are just taking a little break. We are still together but we both decided to give each other some space." I replied not wanting to discuss this with my Mom. She just wouldn't understand what I was going through. I mean, how could she? Here she was, the happiest I've seen her in a long time with a great guy, granted I didn't need the stepbrothers but still. I haven't seen the two of them argue over anything before. They're just happy, like newly weds 2 years after the fact.

"Ok Susie. If you ever need to talk about it…" She said after hearing the sound of my voice. That's the best thing about my mother. She doesn't harp like other moms do.

"So you and the cabana boy…" She said a moment later.

I let out a moan and wanted to stab myself with the metal nail file Mandy was using on me.

"I don't like him like that. He's pure eye candy mom. Like Hugh Grant or some other old guy is to you. Eye candy!" I said.

"Well, I figured honey. You aren't like that." She was laughed at me.

Good to know I can bring some comical relief to the table.

.OOOOO.

I walked out of the spa feeling completely refreshed after a manicure, pedicure and mini-massage. I was so refreshed and relaxed that I barely noticed James. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him talking to Kirk. I spun around to get a full view, almost knocking over a piece of pottery that decorated the lobby.

I heaved a sigh and felt the tension come back into my shoulders. I walked over to the two of them already knowing why Kirk hadn't moved on.

"She didn't find the will?" I asked Kirk.

"No. Lena did. And since it does not benefit her father, who is Kirk's brother, she hid it so Kate won't find it." James answered for him.

"Well…I guess its time to do things my way." I replied. My way consisted of more drastic measures that usually wind up with me being in trouble or with me threatening people. Something that I am quite good at.

"Do it better then you did before. Or I'll be back." Kirk warned and shimmered away.

I hate ghosts. I really do.

"What time is it?" I asked James turning my attention to him.

"It's about 4:30. You free after you have dinner at 5:00?" He asked.

"How do you know when I'm having dinner? Wait, I know. You work here." I answered for him. "And yes. I'm free. Meet me here at 7:00. I'm assuming you know where Lena lives?"

He nodded in reply with a big grin making his green eyes shimmer.

"Well. Meet me here in the lobby at 7:00 o'clock ok?" I asked.

"Aye aye sailor."

Boy, I was in for a long night.


	3. Get Away

Chapter 3: Get Away!

I had a plan to get the will. I had done it a million times at least in my mediating career. But for some reason, it was going as well as I liked it to.

I was sitting in Lena's parlor sipping, of all things, Hawaiian tea. Only moments before, I had done what I usually done and told her to give the will to Kirks wife. Her reply was a simple, "no".

"Lena, Kirk knows you have it." I tried to reason with her. She merely raised an eyebrow in response.

This was ridiculous. I was sitting on a Hawaiian (ironic, no?) print couch, drinking tea for God's sakes. I had just told her that a dead person had sent me here and she didn't even falter. Most people, when I tell them, put their hand to their chest, let out an exasperated sigh and do whatever I ask them to since they are in so much shock. But Lena? Yeah, she is the exception to this.

James set his cup of tea down onto the little coffee table. I could tell he was getting frustrated with her.

"Lena? Give us the will. Now." He said in an angry and threatening way.

"No. Do you know what my family is going through? And what that shop will do to help us?" She replied flicking back her black hair.

"Do you know what Kate, Kirk's wife is going to go through? And all the memories she's going to loose if she looses that shop too?" I countered. "That shop holds the final memories that she had with her husband! Its all she has left!"

Now I was getting pretty worked up. I really wanted to just smack her senseless until she cried uncle.

She smacked her lips at this and leaned back in her chair.

James leaned next to me and whispered so I could only hear, "Your plan sucks. But I have a plan B. Go with it."

I hate it when people try to horn in on my territory.

"You know what? This isn't going anywhere. Suze, will you just give me a minute? I want to use the bathroom, then we can go." James said and got up an, put his car keys on the table and left.

Ok how was I supposed to go with that? My only guess is that James didn't have to go to the bathroom but rather he was going to search for the will. So that meant I had to keep Lena from noticing how long James is gone.

I sighed again and decided to use a little bit of Opra/Doctor Phil.

"So Lena, you said your family was having problems? Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. She seemed a little bit happier now that James had called off the interrogation.

"Well, my dad used to own a ton of sugar cane crop. You've been here awhile so I'm sure you've seen it."

I had seen it. It almost looked like wheat growing. Andy had made us go on a boat tour and the guide had pointed out a part of the island full of sugar cane.

"Well, the part that he owned got burned down because of a fire started by fireworks last July. Some tourists had brought some to celebrate and stupidly fired them in the field. He lost everything. An entire years worth of growing. We were just about to harvest it too. Now, were completely broke and I get barely any pay from working at _Kirk_ _and_ _Kate's_. So my mom is working two jobs at this restaurant and my dad is working in the fields instead of owning them just to make ends meet."

Wow. She did have things bad. But still, the will belongs to Kate not Lena's father.

"I'm so sorry Lena." I said.

She looked on the verge of tears.

I got up and handed her a tissue.

"Thanks. Your not so bad for a psycho chick."  
Damn. And just when I started to like her too.

Just then we heard a loud _craaaack_ and then the sound of glass breaking.

I stood there wide-eyed wondering what the heck James had done.

Lena sprang to her feet spewing cuss words and ran towards the sound of the glass breaking. I guess she knew that James was just not using the bathroom.

"Suze grab the keys and run!" I heard James holler.

Oh dear God. I was going to start the get away car. How the heck do I get myself in this?

I ran out the front door and hit the unlock button and slide, Dukes of Hazarded style, across the roof to the drivers side. Thank God I was wearing my crappy jeans and converse.

I threw open the door to the convertible and jammed the key into the ignition. I watched as James ran out, Lena on his tail, to the car.

He didn't even open the door but instead jumped into the passenger seat.

"Go, go, go!" He yelped and I put the car into gear and sped off. Lena was left in our dust hollering and screaming.

Once we where a safe distance away from her, I pulled over and smacked James on the arm.

"You just made me apart of your get away scheme!" I yelled.

"Well, yeah but on the bright side you drove terrifically. And think about this, how many times do you get to say that you drove a get-away car?" He asked and handed me the will.

"So you actually got the will?" I asked laughing.

"You bet your sweet cheeks cupcake." He replied.

I slapped him on the arm again. "Don't ever call me that again."

"Sorry Mrs. Sensitive." He mocked.

I rolled my eyes. "Now, tell me how to get to Kate's house so we can hand deliver this baby. I don't want Kirk popping up in my bedroom when I get home tomorrow night."

"You're leaving?" He asked me while turning on the puppy eyes.

"Well yeah. I have a life to get back to." I answered.

What did James expect? That I was going to live on the island forever?

He didn't really reply to what I said. After a moment of sitting he told me how to get to Kate's.

After a drive of silence, except for the radio belting out _The Plain White T's_, I was happy to get out of the car. I tossed James the keys and he handed me the will.

"Should we just give it to her?" He asked, the first thing he's said since leaving Kate's.

"I'll do it. Why don't you wait in the car? It might be better for you if you're not connected anymore then you already are." I answered.

He nodded, not giving me trouble like he usually does. In a way, he was acting like Paul. Good thing Jesse's not dead otherwise I may have to worry about James exorcising him. Ok, maybe that was a little full of my self to say but still.

I knocked on the door and a petite women answered the door.  
"Hi are you Kate?" I asked wiping a bead of sweat off my forehead. Man it was hot on the mainland. I could only imagine how my hair looked right now. Thank God it was getting dark out making it harder to see the 'fro I was sure I had.

"Yes…May I help you?" She asked.

I could feel cold air blast through the screen door that was separating the two of us.

"Um. Yeah. I have something for you. I can't explain how or why I have it but I do. So here." I held out the paper for her to see.

She pulled a pair of glasses out of her pocket and looked at it through the screen. As soon as she read the first line, she yanked the screen door open and snatched the paper.

"Oh my God…But…How?" She whispered.

"Kirk wants you to have it." I merely replied.

She said something in Hawaiian.

"Thank you. Whoever you are…Thank you. I'm sorry to say that I've been cursing Kirk's name for the past couple of days because of this." She said and let out a laugh. Then she hugged me and gave me a peck on the cheek. "You'll have to excuse me. I have a lawyer to call." She danced, I'm not kidding danced, into the hall and disappeared.

I, still in shock by Kate's forwardness, just stood there for a moment before I walked back to the car.

James, who was now sitting in the drivers seat, was laughing.

"Did she just hug and kiss you?" He asked between fits of laugher.

"Yes. Yes she did. Take me back to the hotel. I think I may need to scrub my face. Wow, she's forward." I replied.

..OOOOOO..

"Want to go get one last Pina Colada with me Suze?" My mother asked me that night.

I nodded in agreement and finished brushing my hair. Doc had made our bathroom a last minute science lab to finish the reports on that bug. I was now forced to use the bathroom in my Moms room. It was still odd to see Andy's shaving gel and wallet sitting on the counter next to my Moms hair shampoo.

I put my brush back into my makeup bag and shoved it under the sink. We then made our way to the bar for some more mother daughter bonding time. Only to our surprise, Andy, Dopey and Sleepy where sitting there at a large table.

"I guess night surfing was a bust." I muttered to my mom.

"I suppose so. Lets join them."

Yay. Just what I want to do with my last night on the island.

"Hi honey!" Andy brightened when he saw my Mom. He got up and gave her a kiss.

All three of us kids gagged on the site.

"Shut up guys." My Mom mumbled. Her cell phone started to ring just then. She broke away from her embrace and answered it.

"Hello?" She said.

I went over to the bartender and ordered two Pina Colodas, one virgin of course.

"Suze's its for you! Its Jesse." My mom hollered from behind me.

I whipped my head around so fast that it hurt.

I hadn't talk to him since I've left. _What did he want_? I thought.

I snatched up the phone, motioned towards my mom to take care of the drinks and darted outside.

"Hello?"

"Susannah? It's Jesse." He said.

My legs practically melted. How could I stay mad at him? I loved him, obviously.

"Hi. What's up?" I asked.

"I just wanted to see when you're coming home." He said.

"Tomorrow. I'll be home tomorrow night. I…I miss you." I blurted out.

"I miss you too, quierda." He replied.

"Jesse, I'm so sorry! I don't care that you're working for the police. I mean, I care but it doesn't bother me. I'm really sorry for our fight."

"Susannah…Don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow ok?" He said.

"Ok. Bye Jesse." I hanged up the cell, finally feeling at peace and truly relaxed.

..OOOOO..

I woke up to the sound of Doc in the bathroom running water, no doubt working on the experiment still. Why couldn't my mother have married into a normal family? Glancing at the clock, I realized that it was 5:30 in the morning.

"Doc! Go back to bed!" I yelled and pulled the blankets over my head.

I heard the bathroom door open.

"Suze. We leave in 6 hours. I need to finish my experiment!" David replied. "And I don't mind the nickname by the way."

"What?" I asked and pulled the sheet off of my head.

"Doc. You called me Doc."

Dang it. I had been caught.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to." I answered.

"No. I like it." He replied and marched back into the bathroom.

Well, it is my last day, and the sun was coming up. Might as well watch the sunrise I suppose. I grabbed my suite and changed quickly, not really worrying about Doc abandoning his experiment anytime soon.  
Just as I was about to leave, Doc stuck his head out of the bathroom door again.

"Oh. Suze I forgot to tell you last night. There is a message on the hotel phone for you. It's CeeCee. She says it's urgent and to call as soon as you can, day or night."

"Ok thanks." I replied and he disappeared again.

I plopped back down on my bed and dialed CeeCee's cell, not worrying too much about waking her since there was time change.

She answered on the second ring.

"Suze!" She said.

"Hey Cee. What's up?" I asked.

"Not to much. Just one little tiny thing."

"What's that?"

I really didn't like the sound of this.

"I saw Jesse at the police station yesterday. I was their giving one last statement about my former boss being an accomplice to a murder and all. You know, everyday activity.

"Anyway, Jesse was there. And when I asked Patty, the cop I was giving my statement to, why he was there, she said she couldn't say. That it was between the county of Carmel. I just thought that it was odd and was wondering if you could shed some light on that." She said.

My heart started pounding in my chest. Jesse had been caught. And by my best friend of all people.

"No idea. I guess we will just need to talk to him about it when I get back." I lied.

"Yeah I suppose so. If you aren't to tired, want to meet at the Clutch tomorrow?" She asked.

"Sounds good." I replied and cleared my throat.

"Ok. Bye!" She hung up.

I sat there on my bed in a state of shock. Jesse's secret is going to be a hard one to keep.


End file.
